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Emily rolled her eyes.
Sir Arrogant was back.
And that was probably a very good thing.
******
He had a private jet. It waited in the general aviation parking area at Kennedy Airport like an enormous silver bird.
A small, pleasant-looking man met them, shook hands with Marco and with her.
“Emily, this is Jim Bryce. Our first officer. Jim, this is my assistant, Ms. Madison.”
“It’s Emily,” Emily said.
Bryce smiled and asked for their passports. Emily had a bad moment when she realized the name on hers was Wilde, not Madison, but Bryce didn’t so much as glance at them.
“I’ll have these cleared in a couple of minutes, sir,” he said.
Security and customs procedures were different for those who flew in private planes. She’d almost forgotten that.
Charles boarded with their luggage; Marco took her elbow as they climbed the stairs to the cabin door.
“Th
is is Leslie. Our flight attendant.” The flight attendant, elegantly groomed, smiled at her. “Leslie, this is my administrative assistant. Ms. Madison.”
“It’s Emily,” Emily said again, holding out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Leslie.”
The man standing behind the attendant was the captain, Kier Tate. More smiles, handshakes and introductions all around.
Marco’s hand remained cupped around Emily’s elbow.
It was a simple gesture. Polite, nothing more—but his fingers seemed hot against her skin as he led her deeper into the cabin.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” he said softly, his lips at her ear.
“Why would I be nervous?” Could it be the feel of his hand? The warmth of his breath? The realization that she was leaving her own world and entering his?
“Surely, you’re not nervous about being with me.”
“Of course not,” she said quickly, whipping her head toward him. Big mistake. His head was still bent to hers. One more inch and her lips would touch his cheek.
He smiled. It was a bone-melting smile.
“If it is because this is your first flight on a private plane, I can assure you that we meet—we probably exceed—all standards.”
He certainly exceeded all standards.
As for flying on a private jet… Should she tell him that she had three brothers? That they owned private planes the equal of this? That she had flown with Jacob and Caleb and Travis dozens of times, that she had a friend, Laurel, whose husband, His Royal Highness Sheikh Khan ibn Zain al Hassad of Altara, owned a jet that had taken Emily and her sisters to Altara for a visit last summer?
No.
None of that had anything to do with her as Marco’s new assistant.
The truth was, the less anyone knew about her and her background, the better. Even Nola knew very few of the details--only that she had brothers and sisters and that she’d grown up in Texas—because she’d met Nola after she’d decided to stop being Emily Wilde and start being Emily Madison.
One thing you learned when you came from a wealthy, powerful family was that some people saw you not as a person but as a curiosity.
